A Work In Progress: 1 Month In...

So, a few weeks further on, and I have now passed the “1 month mark” of my time here! September continued to be a busy, fairly full-on month of continuing renovations and buying the “big things” (stove, sink, etc) for the flat, as well as beginning German lessons, joining the Schall.Platte choir, various community meals, a team weekend away and a lovely visit from Lilli Jones(nee Güenther).

The German classes are being held through Caribuni, the community-type center Polylux head’s up, and conveniently located on the bottom floor of my apartment building! Our teacher is a Polish woman who moved here 6 years ago, and the classes are mainly aimed at migrants/refugees who need to attain a language proficiency certificate in order to move on to the next level of visa to allow them to stay in the country. Its a slightly interesting mix, as I am usually the only woman in a group of 5-6 Syrian men and 3-4 Eritrean men, although there is also a Serbian couple and another Polish woman who sometimes comes, too! It’s quite fun though, as we are all at slightly different levels of ability, and are all trying to learn German, in German...so there are various “whisper translation” which go on between the various groups, but I am finding it really helpful and encouraging! I have also realised how fortunate I am in 1) having a knowledge of and the ability to write in our western alphabet, instead of also having to try to translate/learn a new script(from arabic), 2) being fully literate already(whereas one or two of the Eritreans don’t actually know how to read or write fully, having never being able to afford actual schooling, and 3) being able to live with a German family while I’m learning! Having Ava to talk with(particularly!), is actually really helpful because I can speak my very butchered, piecemeal, simple German to her very happily, as she(18mths old) is only learning how to communicate that way, too! It’s very encouraging when I speak to her and she understands me! The rest of the community are also really good about slowly trying to speak more in simple German, so, although there is still a very long way before I’m fluent, I find I have a few advantages over the others in our class, who don’t have the opportunity or need to speak to many German-speaking people, except in the shops, etc...

The choir will also be quite fun, I think, as I found it a slightly hilarious experience the first night I went! The “Choir” is open to anyone over 16 who wants to come, and Basti(Sebastian) and another guy(Joel) began it primarily as a way to fight the lies people have had spoken over them about not being “good enough”. “Oh, you can’t sing.” “You’re an awful singer”. “Your clothing “style” is bad”, “You’re too fat for that”, etc, etc, etc. The choir is a way for anyone and everyone to come together and see that they CAN do something, that they CAN sing, they CAN make something beautiful (or at least quite nice!) by simply being themselves regardless of style, taste, ability, size...and, it's making music, which tends to bring joy and satisfaction in itself!

But, it’s also a bit hilarious because none of them have ever really sung before, or have any musical background...we are simply divided into people who can “sing high” or need to “sing low”. They also sing a mix of songs off the radio, some German and some English, but as most are unable to read or pronounce the English lyrics (I can!!!) they write them out phonetically in German, which is quite fun! (although I basicaly have the same difficulties with the German lyrics!) We also have to stop for a cigarette break, halfway through, which I find funny as smoking is NOT good for vocal chords, etc, but... :)

Last week I also had the lovely gift of a visit from Lilli Jones, who came up for a week to meet the Polylux community and to visit me. It also timed in with our “team weekend” away, which was a lovely, relaxed time of hanging out in a local village, simply relaxing, chatting, eating, praying and resting together, as we prayed and discussed how various things may need to adapt as we grow larger as a community.

I have to admit though, that although it was lovely to have Lilli here, I think her visit and the actual “stopping” of the weekend, triggered my first “round” homesickness and culture fatigue. Nothing horrendous, but at the beginning of this week I had a few slightly difficult days. The combination of 4 busy weeks of “big” tasks to be done and completed, the fact that despite many of those things being completed there are still more to do before I can properly move in to my “home” and so a kind of feeling of unsettledness and “limbo”(despite feeling VERY much at home with the Neumanns, but it's still not MY home or MY space), and then the ease of communication which came with Lilli’s visit and the level of comfort which comes when people have known you for a few years already, know the people you know, the places you know, the references you know, and the ability to fully communicate and know that she could understand both “sides” (spoken and unspoken) of my conversation, triggered the awareness that new friendships take time and just how important being able to speak a person’s language is, in being able to make/connect/develop understanding between people.

But, fortunately I was able to have a few nice Skype conversations, and a few encouraging emails with various friends, and then this week a few more things began to fall into place with the flat so it feels as if the momentum is beginning again(on a slightly less intense level, which is probably good, but still moving again!), and I feel I’ve “ridden the first wave” ok! :)

The next week or two will be continuing with the German lessons, singing with Schall.platte on Monday night, and sorting out a few more things in the flat. I now have a sink (just need to plumb it in) and a stove (need to find an electrician to wire it in...this is currently the biggest “stall” in the process), will hopefully be collecting a table I’ve bought through ebay, and then when/if some of the guys have time(a few are away this week for various reasons), hopefully moving my bed across! Once the stove is in, the sink is plumbed in and my bed is there, I will shift across and BEGIN LIVING IN MY OWN PLACE!!! As always, there are more “little things” that will need to be got, too(pots, pans, toaster, broom/mop, etc), but there’s a big 2nd hand furniture warehouse at the bottom of the hill so I’m hoping to be able to find most of what I need there...

I continue to be humbled and encouraged as different people contact me to say they’d like to help support me in my monthly costs, and I’m pleased to say I now only need £200 ($350) to meet my monthly target of £550 (€700/$950)! God has been “blowing my mind” with his generosity through people in this, and although in some ways it still seems like a fair amount, I know that it is more than possible for Him to “connect the dots” to make it happen!

I’m a bit short of pictures this week, but have included a few more of my “apartment in progress” and will hopefully add a few of either my German class or the Schall.platte, fairly soon!

Thank you as always for your prayers and support!